Adena wrote:Yes, I'm 5'1" and I actually lost a teeny bit of my pudginess, so now I weigh 127. Thanks for all the support! (I think I may be an easy-gainer.)

Good job getting the body fat down! I can only imagine how impressive it is to see you lifting so huge at 5'1"!

PS I just saw your message on my log...you're right, we're at similar body weights and strength levels! Is this the first time you've done an organized lifting program? Are you taking any supplements? I'm totally down for the friendly competition/being online gym buddies

Oh my gosh, you guys are going to make me blush! I think I have a really good training program going on. I've even inspired my boyfriend to follow the same training program. It's called Jim Wendler's 5 / 3 / 1 and I think there's a pretty descriptive article about it on T-Nation somewhere.

I don't take supplements of any kind, just a B-12 sublingual and vitamin D until the sun comes out. Sometimes I have a cup of soymilk after training. Mostly I just try to eat a lot. The only thing I've tried recently is moving toward a more organic/whole foods type of diet, at least most of the time. A lot less dessert, and a little more chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, brown rice, tofu, tempeh, and seitan. I'm really not doing anything special, just working hard and chowing down!

I really couldn't lift it all the way on the last rep, a bad sign since last week my 1RM was 105. I realized I've been working on having a more neutral grip though, so that might be all it is. My grip used to be too wide. Ah, well.

Yes, it's a four day split. The first day is Standing Overhead Press, the second day is Deadlift, the third day is Bench, and the fourth day is Squat. And you can do whatever assistance exercises you feel like for each day, so I just picked a few things that I thought would work. You're supposed to have a rest day in the middle, and two rest days after the fourth training session. I ended up with a Tuesday/Wednesday Friday/Saturday split because my squat sessions take a lot of focus, and I like having a nearly empty gym, so Saturday is perfect for that.

For those of you just tuning in to my training log, a deload week is when you intentionally lift less than you can to give your muscles a bit of a break. You can't lift heavy 100% of the time! Next week I'll be back to throwing around heavy weights.

Standing Overherad Press Day

SOHP:

3x5x45

BOR:

3x10x55

One Arm DB Press:

3x10x15 for each arm

Assisted Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups

Side note: I consider pull-ups to be the ones with an overhand grip, and chin-ups to be the ones with an underhand grip. My boyfriend says I'm weird and nobody calls them that except me. I guess that's all right with me.

I still haven't bought any chalk, but I brought my straps. I felt pretty strong on the second set, so I thought I'd use my bare hands like normal, and it never slipped on that last set. I readjusted my grip a few times when I brought the bar back down, but I wasn't dropping the bar like the last time I tried 185 without chalk. I hope this is a sign my grip is getting a bit stronger.

Good Mornings:

5x12x105

Farmer's Walks with 50 lb dumbbells

Plate Pinches with two five lb plates, each hand held as long as possible...I'm averaging about 30 seconds for the right hand and 15 for my left.

Hanging Leg Raises, arms fully extended above me, hanging from a pull-up bar. This helps me work on grip. Even after all those farmer's walks and plate pinches, I was able to hold on for eight slow leg raises, which is an improvement over last week.